Start Your Own Horse Riding Business

Because she grew up caring for, riding, and showing horses, this lady had the knowledge and experience to market herself as a horse riding instructor.  She charges around £100 for ten one-hour sessions, and teaches all ages and ability levels, but most of her students are school age children.  During the summer months, she offers one week camps to make even more money.

When she first started teaching, Annie (not her real name), advertised as frequently and as cheaply as possible.  Eventually, her classes filled up as soon as new ones were announced, and now Yellow Pages and word-of-mouth are her main ways of promoting her business.

The best part of Annie's set up is that she teaches the classes at someone else's stables.  She uses their horses, their equipment, and their land.  Because the stable owner is already being paid for the boarding and caring of the horses, Annie's operating costs are incredibly low.  However, she does purchase insurance as a safeguard, which is always a wise decision for any business featuring a potentially dangerous sport or pastime.

If you have an interest in horses, but not the experience, you can still work your way to becoming a riding instructor.  First, you could take lessons yourself and then learn how to teach other people to ride.  In the beginning, you’d probably teach just the basics.  But you could pair up with someone like Annie and offer to instruct horse care classes, or you could do all the administrative tasks and leave riding and teaching riding to the experts. 

Once you gain the appropriate knowledge and experience, you can become creative in your packaging of different classes.  Some stables offer birthday parties on the premises, for example, especially if there are enough farm animals nearby to make up a petting zoo.